Also known as The Arousing, Thunder, Shock, Quake.
The character 震 means thunder or an earthquake: a sudden shake from outside. Hexagram 51 is about the jolt that comes without warning. Fear is natural. What matters is what you do after the first fright, and whether you can keep hold of what you're carrying.
The figure
Thunder over Thunder, the trigram doubled. A single strong line pushes up under two weak ones, twice over: energy bursting out from below. It is the reverse of hexagram 52.
The judgment
It goes through. The shock comes and everyone flinches; then there is laughing and talking. It carries a hundred miles, and the one holding the ladle and the wine does not spill them.
The person who stays calm inside keeps hold of what matters, even when everyone around them jumps.
The image
Thunder on thunder, one roll before the last has gone. Let the fright do its work, then look at yourself.
A shake from outside is a good moment to check your own life and set it in order.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. The shock comes and you're afraid. Then you laugh. It goes well; the fright made you careful.
- Line 2. The shock brings risk and your goods are lost. Head for high ground; don't go after them. Within a week they return.
- Line 3. The shock leaves you dazed. If it moves you to act, you avoid harm.
- Line 4. The shock gets stuck in the mud. Energy with nowhere to go.
- Line 5. Shocks come and go, again and again. It's dangerous, but nothing is lost if you stay centred and keep doing what needs doing.
- Line 6, at the top. The shock throws you into panic, staring around. Pushing on now goes badly. If it hasn't hit you yet, only your neighbor, take care in time and you're not to blame, even if people talk.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 51 says something sudden is shaking things up. Let the first fear pass, steady yourself and look at what it shows you. Don't panic and don't chase what's lost.